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Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Take a trip today with Child. A trip that floats on psychedelic fabrics of deep Indigo Blues, propelled ever onward by the steadfast strength of Cerulean Blue guitar riffs, solos, and mind-calming runs, fortified by Azure Blue vocals of passion and clarity, bolstered by the primal rhythms of Beryl Blue drumwork and deep Navy Blue bass lines. The journey begins in Melbourne, Australia, running a path straight through the moist, hot climes of the Mississippi Delta and on into the bright, crisp air of the Mojave Desert before steering a course for a deep blue odyssey of worldwide deliverance.

This album is at once stirring and joyous, drawing obviously from a fount of blues rock masters, infusing a whiff of the dexterity borne of the deserts of the American West, all the while underpinning psychedelic melodies with gargantuan riffs of deep, low amplification.

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Retro Kick-Ass is the theme today with Hyvinkää, Finland's Magpie Toes who have released their initial foray into blues-rock fuzzery with their eponymous EP of 4 Hi-Fi tracks that beg to be played at ear-shattering decibels and enjoyed in joyous celebration. Their music evokes a time of bell bottom jeans and big hair, of tripping strangely and dancing freely, of love, laughter, and good times. The blues-rock influence of a bygone era of Rock N' Roll, and the bands that forged it, is obvious and heavy, expressed through massive guitar riffs, cool drum solos, and vocals of power and clarity, driven by clever melody and soul-stirring hooks. Emerging out from under all that homage, though, is a freshness, a newness, that can only come from keen imagination, musical dexterity, and a love for what remains possible and potent from the influences of past giants.

Monday, May 29, 2017

I don't know about you, but every now and then I like to go through my massive collection of great music and see if I can find something I haven't played in a long while, or perhaps discover an album I never had a chance to give a chance when it was first acquired. Today's focus is on a little jewel of an EP that's been sitting in my 'Doom Trunk' for five years waiting to be re-discovered.

Mammoth Thunderpower released the exceptional "I Am Thunder" EP in 2012 that delivered massive potential. The music is replete with stoner and doom tendencies, keeping things low, sometimes slow, sometimes at a more urgent tempo, but always in satisfying fashion with hooks that dig deep into musical cochlea, ripping a bloody hold that is eternal and yearning.

Nothing much has been heard of Mammoth Thunderpower since the release of "I Am Thunder". Word is, though, that after laying low for half a decade the band have managed to get together in the studio and begin the process of making new music. Stay tuned to Heavy Planet and we'll be sure to let you know when the time comes. In the meantime, travel back down dark memories to relish in the mastery of their powerful first album.

Friday, May 26, 2017

&lt;a href="http://kinghiss.bandcamp.com/album/mastosaurus"&gt;Mastosaurus by King Hiss&lt;/a&gt;

Yesterday's Quick Hit was a band from Belgium. While cruising through the land of chocolate, beer, and diamonds I stumbled across another fine act, King Hiss, who have been expertly wielding their 4 piece stoner/doom arsenal since 2011, conquering the metal scene both in studio, with 4 bulging albums and a two track acoustic segue, as well as in the live venues and festivals of Europe where they have made their reputation for delivering towering, stellar performances.

The music is an exceptional blend of stoner and doom sensibilities with some traditional metal thrashing thrown in to spice it all up. The songs are written with an ear for what's intriguing and memorable, while the vocalist lays waste with his well honed sonance in the vanguard of blistering solos, abundant riffs, and ravaging rhythms.

Thursday, May 25, 2017

The focus today is on Ghent, Belgium's Fire Down Below and their debut album "Viper Vixen Goddess Saint". There is everything to say about this album. It's an injection of intense musical exhilaration, evident from the opening riff of the first full song, "Through Dust and Smoke" and never wavering in intensity or satisfaction through to the aptly titled closer "The Mammoth". The melodies are the star here, songs written so beautifully, and delivered so expertly and heartfelt that it's an intoxicating opium rush of warmth and pleasure, paradoxically sharpening senses and expanding sensuality, opening dormant avenues of perception in efforts to experience every little nuance of riff and searing solo, of flourishes of stick on skin, of deep bass blitzes, and of every ingress of those brilliant and exquisite harmonizing vocals.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Godhunter, from Arizona, Tucson, have been producing stoner sludge for a number of years now, and when several members of the band left at the end of 2015, it seemed like the band's days were numbered, however, guitarist/vocalist David Rodgers, drummer Andy Kratzenberg, and keyboardist Matthew Davis continued on writing new music, changing from their ever present commentary on social injustice to taking a more personal approach and focusing on their own individual struggles, and it's made for a short but stunning new record, combining elements of doom, sludge, post-metal, industrial, and stoner to the perfect degree.

Codex Narco opens with 'A Dread of Some Strange Impending Doom', a two-minute doom opus, setting the tone as a bleak but charging expedition into the band's consciousness, putting you at an unsettling ease before the dark psychedelic stomping riffs of 'Like Glass Under Black Fingernails' hits you with it's doomy gutteral atmospheric ambiance. The vocals are a perfect juxtaposition of gentle heart-wrenching clean aches and aggressive power as the two singers vie for the most poignant delivery. The music is as bleak as it is powerful, and it grips you.

'Our Blood Is Poison' is a dark audio recording that sends a few shivers down your spine before the excellent 'Cocaine Witches & Lysergic Dreams' gives you a glorious wall of noise, dealing with issues of cocaine use shouting "The high isn't forever, and neither is this, the song is just as temporary as the fix" as the industrial stoner doom backdrop drives the music along with incredible power and force. It's a song not to be fucked with.

The band have recruited members of CHRCH, Mountaineer, Demon Lung, Methra, and Thorne to play on this record, and they've impressed to make Codex Narco a short but brilliantly powerful record, a one which even a cover of Tegan and Sara's 'Walking With a Ghost' fits in perfectly. Godhunter have produced a massive sound on a small scale, and it's impact is as heartfelt as it is speaker shattering. Available on cassette from Baby Tooth records, and digitally, we recommend you get this now.

<a href="http://destroyeroflight.bandcamp.com/album/chamber-of-horrors">Chamber of Horrors by Destroyer of Light</a>

It's early, but a heads up is perfectly warranted for the beautifully rendered, dark and haunting, doomscape album, "Chamber of Horrors", by the Austin, Texas-based doom band Destroyer of Light. The album releases on July 14, so be sure to set a reminder. There is a placeholder song, "Prisoner of Eternity", from the album at bandcamp to give you a taste of what's to come.

The music is eerie yet exhilarating, transporting the listener through a vast kaleidoscope of dark delights, songs of black despair rescued by bright runs of gargantuan riffs, and an overarching battle between gloom and hope. It's engaging, magnetic, and powerful.

Monday, May 22, 2017

The world of hard rock, of heavy metal, is wonderfully varied, so much in fact, there are distinct genre silos underneath the hard/heavy umbrella, many of them having filled up decades ago, going nearly dormant as ever newer ones are molded out of the settling dust of their predecessors. Perhaps the granddaddy genre has been the audacious, in your face sound of traditional heavy metal that grew out of progenitors such as Led Zeppelin, Blue Cheer, and Black Sabbath. That heavy metal sound was personified by bands such as Judas Priest, Megadeth, and Iron Maiden, to name a miniscule few. It was a sound that dominated the scene in the mid to late 70s and into the bulk of the 80s before sort of weirdly fusing into the over the top sounds of big hair bands. The excessiveness of big hair, though, prepped us for the wonderful grunge explosion as well as the almost unnoticed rumbling of stoner/desert rock of the 90s. Many other sounds have come, and gone. For anyone exploring for the first time any version of wondrous, amplified metal vibrations, old or new, there is an overabundance of choices. Gifted musicians can draw from an almost limitless supply of inspirational music, the possibilities are endless. This is what ran through my mind when I first heard "Wizard Mountain". Of course, I have no idea how Two Headed Beast may have arrived upon their signature sound, I just know I hear the wonderfully deep, heavy fuzz of stoner/doom rock in their vigorous riffs and searing solos, but, in the blink of a photon, I am ripped back to an earlier era as soon as those incredible vocals of Brian Allen kick in. "Wizard Mountain" quickly concentrates my focus, drawing me deep into its wicked melodies and triumphant chorus, down into the murky depths of low tuned and amplified energy, emboldened by the soaring, invigorating intonations of Allen's vocal time machine. The pairing of traditional metal vocals and bottom dark stoner/doom guitar is somehow brilliant, revitalizing, and emboldening. It's a physical reaction to a spiritual rendering, teleporting me to a time and place of power and potential.

Two Headed Beast hail from Portland, Oregon. Band members include John Hughes, Jason Dunn, Shawn Ferguson, Scott Speelman, and vocalist Brian Allen.

The initial track, "Valley of Skulls", immediately opens with the double whammy of deep, fuzzy guitar and powerfully rendered vocals that is the consistent and persistent hallmark of every track to follow. The tempo is dangerous, the magnitude bold, and the realization you're in for a unique and brilliant ride quickly sets in.

"Two Ton Sky" starts off with bare bones, building up to an all-out assault of power and force. The drumwork here is simply marvelous, pounding out a primal beat of mammoth proportions, propped up wonderfully by the bruising dance of bass and guitar, magnified again by those laser sharp vocals.

The eponymous title track, "Witch Mountain", is like a pugilist stalking his opponent, steadily moving forward step by step, delivering hammer blow after ruthless hammer blow until the sudden sound of silence signals the end.

"Apollyon the Destroyer" changes the pace, flowing down a psychedelic bridge of color and static before charging up a steeper trajectory of power and amperage. "Hail the Chief" is a frontal assault of bad attitude and snarl. "Boneyard" and "Blackball' pay homage to traditional metal in measured advances of ragged vocals and steady riffage.

This brings us to the unofficial closer, "Curse of the White Owl" where Two Headed Beast dust off their stoner rock foot pedals and crank up the fuzz in a magnificent display of hook and heat. The solos soar beyond the stratosphere, while the measured tempos of riff and stick are darkly subterranean. Allen's vocals are exquisite on this track, offering a sing along rendition in which no one can match his gifted ability, but will have fun in attempting to do so.

Two Headed Beast offer up a brief coda that is pinned to the tail end of the penultimate song in "Tail of the Owl", a fun little ditty of psychedelic conclusion.

Thursday, May 18, 2017

You're just standing there, innocently, expectantly, hoping to engage with the new discovery when Georgie and Simon begin a bisensual assault of straight stinging jabs to your ears......they use their instruments of choice, of course, vocals for Georgie, and bass guitar for Simon. The assault is powerful, coordinated, measured, and.......delightful! Soon enough the rest of Kitchen Witch join in, Conor on guitar and John on drums, and the odyssey has begun, a colorful trip of brilliance and ecstasy.

The bluesy rock sound of Kitchen Witch will quickly bludgeon any impending designs on productivity you may have had, snaking it's electrified tendrils in and around the primal center of your musical DNA before tightening it's amplified grip, supplanting any sense of awareness for an overabundant experience of joy and euphoria. Yeah. It's that powerful. So, lie back, let go, lick your lips, and luxuriate in the lush experience of Kitchen Witch's superior sound.

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

OHHMS are back pushing the envelope of normalcy with their incredibly unique brand of sludge covered punk doom that pays no direct homage to the progenitors of metal while delivering an unbridled deluge of amplified riffs and angst-riddled vocal dispatch, presenting a hard, dark milieu of bulging discovery.

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Isn’t it sweet when as a music community we get together to show solidarity and an appreciation for the things we care about? Leicester (UK)-based Mage are certainly grateful. After a successful Pledge Music campaign, their fans helped fund their latest and fourth record Green. The record itself, laid down at Skyhammer Studios by Chris Fielding, is seven chunks of straight-forward in yer face riffage, much in the vein of DOWN, CoC or AlabamaThunderpussy. Green opens with foot-stomping riff on Nowhere To Nothing that Pepper Keenan would be proud of, and the southern sludgy comparisons don’t stop there. The pounding drums open up Primitive Drive before pulling back to a slow morose guitar chords, evoking images of going eye to eye with an alligator in a Louisiana swamp. And listen out for a guest appearance from Raging Speedhorn front-man John Loughlin, who guests on three tracks. On stand-out track Vultures Mass, Mage deliver an epic slow-burner that grows to the doomiest of conclusions and rounds the record off. Mage are becoming regulars on the UK stoner scene, and through their head-nodding up-tempo groove combined with slower sludgy riffing, you can hear why. If you dig your big heavy riffs, melodic vocals and shit tons of groove, then hit play. Get in the beers in, roll up a fat one and join Mage in the Green.

Monday, May 15, 2017

Hailing from London, Kujara are a three piece delight of conglomerated brilliance. They have brought a big metal pot of thick, viscous rock stew to a bubbling, gurgling roil on their debut, the impressive "Three Days". The bill of materials for their music is an explosive amalgam from nearly every corner of the rock world, combining the best aspects of stoner fuzz delight, deep dark doom, progressive psychedelics, heartstrings of retro/blues rock, a haunting desert atmosphere, tight hooks, memorable melodies, expertly rendered and harmonized vocals, energy beams of blazing and powerful riffage, and through it all, through all that homage and recognition, a bright and exciting sound that is uniquely their own.

As with every new and exciting band that makes its way into the stoner rock milieu, the hope here is that Kujara will return soon enough with more brilliance and fun. Until such time this initial EP of sheer magnificence will certainly carry us along for quite some time.

Sunday, May 14, 2017

I think I just found my first entree into the top albums of 2017.
For those of you not aware Summoner were formerly called Riff Cannon..and true to their former name they do wield said cannon.
Summoner come out swinging with the first track 'New Sun', melding classic stoner grooves, Heavy rock swing and old school metal solos straight into some Doom atmospherics up to the last track 'Into Oblivion'.
This album is heavy with Composition and great reviews are pouring in as I write this. Chalk up another great release from Magnetic Eye Records and Summoner!.. Go buy this now
Full album stream-http://decibelmagazine.com/blog/2017/5/11/full-album-stream-summoner-beyond-the-realm-of-light
http://magneticeyerecords.merchnow.com/
http://instagram.com/summonerband

Friday, May 12, 2017

Cloud have been around for a short minute, releasing their first EP on bandcamp back in 2015. "Indeterminate" is their second release. It's savory. It's toothsome. It's intoxicating. I very much hope this Pittsburgh trio thrive and continue to manufacture psychedelic stoner/doom riffage just as they have done here and extend that minute into legend and legacy.

The perception sometimes is that instrumental music has to work that extra bit at developing enough creativity to engage and entertain those who experience their music due to the absence of vocals, and the structure vocals tend to supply in stanza and chorus. If that's the case, then mission accomplished, Cloud. There is no ramp up period on any track as each song manages to immediately connect to an atmosphere of intrigue and a depth of discovery. They do this by expertly and eloquently wielding their instruments of stoner brilliance, cranking up the fuzz factor in addictive riffs of low-tuned ecstasy and psychedelic progressivism.

Cloud have added a cunning deviation in the middle of the song selections by inserting the provocative song "Desert Weed" in which they've recruited the vocal inspiration of Mephistofeles' Gabriel Ravera, whose style, at least on this particular rendition, is a magnificent homage to the metal legend of Ozzy Osbourne.

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Resplendence and shadow could easily be the hallmarks of the exquisitely rendered "Servus" from Bathsheba, a Belgian quartet of low-tuned and penetrating boulder crushers, who take hallmarks of their inherent land to provide dark, haunting, atmospheric encounters from their native charcoal mountains intertwined with the brilliance and density of Antwerp's diamond industry. Shadows and light, power and finesse, subterranean depths and soaring heights, all are delivered with great appetite and ferocious prowess. Fronted by the elegant and ethereal vocals of Michelle Nocon, bolstered by the underlying vigor and brawn of bassist Raf Meukens and drummer Jelle Stevens, and masterfully propelled throughout by guitarist Dwight Goossens, the odyssey through coagulation and syrup of ebon is entrancing and euphoric.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Greece rockers Half Gramme of Soma are on the verge of dropping a new album, "Groove is Black", an eight song all-out assault on each and every pleasure sensor. It's all here. Endearing, searing stoner grooves, riffs and hooks galore, memory binding melodies, perfectly matched crunchy, edgy vocals, and simply an overall sound and experience of fierceness and joy.

I had reviewed HGoS's 2013 self-titled album , but somehow missed their 2014 follow on, "Marche au Noir", so, if like me, this newest release isn't the only one you've yet to experience, well, you're in for what the old folks used to call 'a rolickin' good time'! Greece has become one of the premier locales for quality stoner/doom bands, none better than Half Gramme of Soma.

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Wielding binary guitars of power and force and a vocalist for the ages Blood Mist are unleashed upon the earth as part of Baltimore's Grimoire Records. Their music is bold, atmospheric, psychedelic, haunting, and memorable, each song unfolding in controlled explosions of intent and effort, enveloping the listener in a thick dark wall-cloud of doom highlighted by violent flashes of potency and brilliance.

Monday, May 8, 2017

Talk about prolific. Greek veteran Vmetal rockers Nightstalker recently dropped their SEVENTH studio album. Only one of those seven are an EP, the other six being song-full LPs. Can you imagine if Homme, Garcia, Bjork, and Oliveri had been able to cohabitate and proliferate in such a manner?

"As Above, So Below" provides an array of stoner wallop, with deftly crafted melodies of riff and raunch, executed in expert expression. Their music is simple, clean, and consistent, never backing away from mega-riff deliveries of fuzz and fun, sometimes delving into psychedelic forests, but mostly blasting up-tempo melodies of primal delight. Nightstalker have been making music since 1994, sticking with a style that brands them as badasses, revealing a tenacious stoner genius, never boring, never backsliding, nearing a quarter century legacy of legitamacy.

Friday, May 5, 2017

English rockers Cybernetic Witch Cult appear to be cruising comfortably at high speed right now, not only releasing albums in short order, but releasing albums of immense quality and gusto. There is a lot to love on each release and "Troglodithic Trip" is no exception to the rule. In fact it epitomizes the rule.

Right out of the gate the album launches a broadside of hefty stoner fuzz guitar grinding out an almost plodding track of force and focus leading up to perfectly matched scratchbox vocals on "Sagittarius A*". The tempo kicks up a half notch on the following "Astrogalactic Sprites" as the power kicks up tenfold, surrounded in a cold, dark slurry of haunting atmospheric oppression. "Cult of the Druid" is a dark and deep odyssey that plugs into your primal core with melodic runs, searing riffs, and scorching solos of psychedelic marvel.

The journey to this point has been a soul buttressing delight. But it's not over. Not by a long shot.

"Forbidden Fruit" is forceful, memorable, enjoyable, and loud. It's a rapturous hookfest of haunting ferocity. Brutal and bold, "Human" manages to turn a space opera into a low-tuned stoner tour de force, thrilling at every turn, delighting in every expression of instrument and voice.

The album closes out with the best song of the collection, "Tyrannosaurus Hex". It's a mammoth blast of ecstasy and amplification, of indelible melody, of three metal musicians from the warrior isles masterfully wielding their weapons, wreaking unyielding gratification, sparing no acolyte of these dark, fuzzy arts.

"Black magic teleport me,
Into its territory,
Send me back to a distant time.
Cretaceous Tyrant Lizard King
Come forth and hear my summoning.
Tyrannosaurus Hex will save the Earth,
Will save the Earth."

Thursday, May 4, 2017

May 5th is the official release date for Blackbird Hill's latest EP, "Midday Moonlight (maxi)", but the music is available for streaming a day early on their bandcamp page. This duo from Bordeaux, France are master blues rock craftsmen, expertly cobbling together powerful tunes of melodious amplification with their single guitar, single trap set, two voices, as well as a knack for engaging melodies and powerful hooks. Their songs range from haunting ballads to rip-roaring rockers, all supremely crafted and heartily delivered. If you listen today, hopefully you'll return tomorrow and download this gem of a collection.

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Ordos are a 5 piece group of dark, heavy riffsmiths, hailing from the fertile stoner/doom breeding grounds of Uppsala, Sweden. With their two-pronged six-string attack bolstered by an array of blistering vocals and the hammering blows of drumstick and bass guitar Ordos have crafted intricate, atmospheric paeans of tightly woven dark energy. This album is toothsome and tortuous, resolutely drawing the listener in to its dark depths of demon-haunted visions, delivering rapturous highs of low tuned riffage in an impeccable experience of wondrous doom rock.

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Obscure, but incredible. Unheralded, but magnificent. Disbanded, yet eternal in legacy. This describes too many capable stoner/doom/psych/blues rock bands across the globe that vie for our attention and appreciation. Thank goodness for the interdubyas, granting us access to a trove of rich, delicious, riff laden, fuzz-dripping morsels of guitar driven greatness, regardless of any band's status post release.

Hailing from Sweden, an historical bastion of stoner rock greatness, Bautastor, a 4 piece group of gifted rockers have managed to release at least one album that has melded together the soulful sounds of blues rock, the crunchy, crackling riffs of stoner rock, the sweet melodies and hooks of the denizens of the desert, and the engaging, intricate psychedelic sounds of progressive rock. It's an album that clicks in all categories, pegs the needle on all capacities, and engages you in deep reveries of musical wonderment.

Monday, May 1, 2017

There was a time relatively early in the decade of awesome rock that was the Seventies in which bands used an organ as much as they did their guitars, and the sound was incredible because of it. Deep Purple, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yes, The Doors, even the mighty Led Zeppelin on more than one occasion. Today's up and comer is truly a band you can burn one to because their sound harkens back to those not so innocent times while managing to establish their own wonderful sound. The guitar is mighty and not to be trifled with, the vocals are powerful and soul stirring, the driving rhythms of bass and drums are gargantuan, and the melodies are hook-laden attention grabbers. Sit back with your favorite delivery method of choice and burn a few to Würzburg, Germany's Zeremony.